In music, momentum is anything that builds energy. Every possible element within a song has the potential to affect momentum, and songs are good if all of those elements partner well. You can hear energy and momentum growing in a song in any number of ways, including: if the music becomes louder; if the music becomes faster; […]
It’s important not to equate quantity with quality when it comes to anything. It’s true that we look with some reverence at the songwriters who have churned out hundreds of songs. But I think (at least I hope we think) that just because someone has written hundreds of songs, we haven’t really said anything with […]
Chord choice is one part of songwriting that doesn’t require a lot of imagination. All that’s really required is that a progression works. In that sense, it’s not much different from a piece of country land that you might build a house on. Sure, it may seem important to have land that, on its own, takes […]
You’ve just written your new song, but it’s got problems. What’s worse, you can’t really tell what the problem is, you just know that something doesn’t sound right. What do you do? A few years back I designed a checklist for songwriters to use in such a case, and you can download that free checklist […]
As a songwriter, you no doubt come across musicians that are passionately opinionated with regard to some musical subject, to the point where it gets under your skin and drives you crazy. You know the arguments I’m talking about: Gibson or Fender? Digital or vinyl? And then what would seem like countless other unanswerables: the best lyricist? […]
It’s an important principle in songwriting that all elements of a song — lyrics, chords, melodies, even instrumentation — act as partners within a song. In other words, lyrics, for example, will be at their best when the chords seem to communicate the mood and meaning of the words. Similarly, the melodies will bring the […]
